Alan Brugler – Barchart –
Thu May 25,
Cotton futures ended Thursday with 137 to 178 point losses across the front months. The market continues to fret about the debt ceiling negotiations, a strong dollar and mixed signals regarding further Fed rate hikes in June. The Dollar Index is at highs not seen since mid-March.
USDA’s weekly Export Sales report showed 215,549 RBs of cotton was sold for export during the week that ended 5/18. That was split out with 131k RBs for 22/23 deliver and 84k for new crop. Cotton exports from the week were 268,748 RBs, a 7-wk low, for a season total of 9.181 million. The total new crop forward book was at 1.608 million RBs as of 5/18.
The 5/24 Cotlook A Index was 95 points lower to 94.45 cents. The online cotton trading platform The Seam reported 8,064 bales sold at 72.40 cents for 5/23. The USDA’s FSA raised the AWP for cotton by 98 points to 69.80 cents/lb.
Jul 23 Cotton closed at 80.12, down 160 points, Dec 23 Cotton closed at 78.5, down 178 points, Mar 24 Cotton closed at 78.64, down 163 points. (Source: Barchart.com)